On March 22nd the BBC News website published a report concerning an incident that had taken place several hours earlier in the day: the interception of three rockets launched from Lebanon towards the town of Metula. An additional three rockets fired at the same time had fallen short and landed in Lebanese territory.
Originally titled “Israel warns Lebanon of severe response after rocket fire”, that report was amended numerous times in the twelve hours or so after its initial publication. The version currently appearing online is credited to Hugo Bachega in Beirut and Jaroslav Lukiv in London and goes under the ‘last-first’ style headline “Israel strikes Lebanon after first rocket attack since ceasefire”.
The opening paragraph also uses that ‘last-first’ formula and fails to inform readers of the location of the target of the attack:
“Israel has carried out multiple air strikes on Lebanon after several rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, in the worst violence since a ceasefire came into effect in November.”
Paragraphs two to five inclusive relate to events in Lebanon after Israel responded to the rocket fire and that topic is also the subject of the sole image illustrating the report:
“The Israeli military said it had hit dozens of rocket launchers and a command centre belonging to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia and political group, in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s health ministry said seven people, including a child, were killed and 40 injured in the air strikes.
Several armed groups operate in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and Palestinian factions, and no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Hours after the first set of strikes, a second wave of attacks were carried out at night on targets that included what the Israeli military described as command centres, infrastructure sites and a weapons storage facility in Lebanon.”
Paragraph six mentions a different story in another geographical location:
“Saturday’s rocket attack from Lebanon came days after Israel reinforced its offensive against Hamas, a Hezbollah ally, in Gaza.”
Only in paragraph seven do readers find a one-line description of the attack and discover where it happened:
“The Israeli military said it had intercepted three rockets in the northern Israeli town of Metula, and there were no casualties.”
The BBC’s reporting does not include a relevant statement made by the mayor of Metula:
“Metula Mayor David Azoulai said some of the eight percent of the town’s residents who have returned since the November ceasefire left after the attack. “The return of residents to Metula under the current conditions is unreasonable. Metula residents won’t be held hostage to a security compromise,” he said.”
By way of context, Bachega and Lukiv tell their readers that: [emphasis added]
“The developments put pressure on a fragile truce, brokered by the US and France, that ended more than a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, the Lebanese military would deploy thousands of additional soldiers to the south of the country to prevent armed groups from attacking Israel.
Hezbollah was required to remove its fighters and weapons, while the Israeli military would withdraw from positions occupied in the war.
But Israel has carried out nearly daily air strikes on what it describes as Hezbollah targets, and has indicated that attacks will continue to prevent the group from rearming.”
As we see, the two BBC journalists have nothing to tell their readers about the failure of the Lebanese Armed Forces to meet its obligations under the terms of the ceasefire agreement. No details are provided concerning the targets of those “near daily air strikes” and other actions, which have included the site of gunfire, a tunnel, a jeep laden with explosives, Hizballah operatives handling weapons, smuggling routes and weapons smugglers, rocket launchers and weapons stores.
Bachega and Lukiv do however tell readers that:
“The Israeli military is still occupying five locations in southern Lebanon, in what the Lebanese government says is a violation of the country’s sovereignty and a breach of the deal.
Israel says the Lebanese military has not yet fully deployed to those areas, and that it needs to remain at those points to guarantee the security of its border communities.”
As was the case when the BBC previously reported on those “five locations” last month, readers are not provided with a full explanation of why the IDF considers it necessary to keep troops at those specific sites or how that decision is related to the failure of UNIFIL and the LAF to enforce previous ceasefire agreements.
Just as the BBC refrained for years from informing its audiences about the failure of UNIFIL and the LAF to implement UN SC resolution 1701, it now avoids the issue of the Lebanese Armed Forces’ failure to meet its obligations under the terms of the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024.
Obscure references to “the challenges facing the Lebanese army, as it tries to exert control over southern areas where Hezbollah has traditionally had a strong presence and support” do not provide BBC audiences with the full range of information needed in order to understand this particular story or any future incidents.
BBC has staff who are partisan! ONe only needs to look at his X page https://x.com/hugobachega/status/1725463704504803836?lang=en
to understand the company he keeps!